Bruce played the song only once:

 

1969-02-23 Upstage (The), Asbury Park, NJ

 

No other set details are know from this evening . An early morning jam session featuring Springsteen with Vinnie Roslin (bass) and Big Bad Bobby Williams (drums) for the first two songs noted under, including Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Vini Lopez replaced Williams and Danny Federici also joined for an extended blues improvisation, which some suggest lasted some forty-five minutes. This would be the beginnings of a new band called Child (whose name would change to Steel Mill in late 1969). This event actually took place in the early hours of Sunday, February 23. The Upstage had opened for a business a year earlier (February 1968) and was steadily becoming a popular late night hangout for local musicians. Springsteen's first known performance at the famous club - he is known to have made at least thirty appearances before the Upstage closed in October 1971.

 

ROCK ME BABY / IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA / HEAVY BERTHA / blues improvisation 

 

 

 

"Rock Me Baby" is a blues standard that has become one of the most recorded blues songs of all time. It is difficult to attribute it to a single songwriter since it is based on earlier blues songs and has been interpreted and recorded by numerous artists in a variety of styles. B.B. King's recording of "Rock Me Baby" was released in 1964. B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" is based on "Rockin' and Rollin'", a song recorded by Lil' Son Jackson in 1950. King's lyrics are nearly identical to Jackson's, although instrumentally the songs are different.